Infographic: The U.S. Cities Drowning in Debt (2024)

FAQs

How many cities in the US are in debt? ›

Spending cuts are occurring across many U.S. cities as inflation lingers and pandemic-era stimulus dries up. At least 53 major cities have debt obligations that outstrip assets, according to an estimate from Truth in Accounting.

Interest rates on credit cards, car loans, and student loans are rising adding to the expense of debt over time while many families are caught in a vicious cycle of charging basic needs when they're short on cash which creates higher balances and bigger interest payments.

The list also highlights fiscal challenges facing cities like Chicago, Houston and Portland, Oregon. “I think we can all agree that we're broke,” said Houston Mayor John Whitmire in a March 2024 City Council budget hearing.

Rounding out the top ten with greatest surpluses were Aurora, Colorado; Fresno, California; Raleigh, North Carolina; Virginia Beach and Corpus Christi, Texas. Of 22 cities reporting surpluses, the majority, six, were in California. Of the 10 cities with the greatest taxpayer burden, nine are run by Democrats.

1. Hawaii: The Most Indebted State. The state ranks third-highest for household debt per capita, with the average resident carrying a debt of $82,650.

The least indebted state is Oklahoma, according to the report, followed by Iowa and a tie for third with New Hampshire and Nebraska. The fifth best state in the category is Ohio. The next five best states, from best to worst, are Wyoming, Indiana, and Wisconsin, with Vermont and South Dakota tied in their ranking.

Nearly half of all US foreign-owned debt comes from five countries. All values are adjusted to 2023 dollars. As of January 2023, the five countries owning the most US debt are Japan ($1.1 trillion), China ($859 billion), the United Kingdom ($668 billion), Belgium ($331 billion), and Luxembourg ($318 billion).

According to financial experts, the percentage of Americans in debt is around 80%. 8 in 10 Americans have some form of consumer debt, and the average debt in America is $38,000 not including mortgage debt.

The federal government needs to borrow money to pay its bills when its ongoing spending activities and investments cannot be funded by federal revenues alone. Decreases in federal revenue are largely due to either a decrease in tax rates or individuals or corporations making less money.

What city has the strongest economy in the US? ›

Washington, DC, isn't a state; it's a district. DC stands for District of Columbia. Its creation comes directly from the US Constitution, which provides that the district, "not exceeding 10 Miles square," would "become the Seat of the Government of the United States."

Five states have no cities with populations exceeding 100,000. They are: Delaware, Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

The terms “national deficit”, “federal deficit” and “U.S. deficit” have the same meaning and are used interchangeably by the U.S. Treasury. A surplus occurs when the government collects more money than it spends. The last surplus for the federal government was in 2001.

McAllen, Texas, and El Paso, Texas, have the two largest populations of Americans who are late on at least one debt payment — a group that makes up 51.7 percent and 46.3 percent of the cities' total populations, respectively.

The largest holder of U.S. debt is the U.S government. Which agencies own the most Treasury notes, bills, and bonds? Social Security, by a long shot. The U.S. Treasury publishes this information in its monthly Treasury statement.

According to the report, Chicago, Houston, and New York ranked in the top three cities with citizens with high financial burdens. Chicago, which ranked number one on the list, had a 30% increase from last year in the share of people who had financial accounts in distress, WalletHub reports.